Barns

[Enchantress]

We're in the process of building a barn, and I wanted to see what others have used for footing on cement floors? We'll be putting down rubber, but does anyone have a company/product that you would recommend? What would you put down in the aisle?

Also, what do you have for doors? We're debating sliding vs. dutch. Has anyone made sliding doors? Would wire in the front be better so they can see out?

What do you you use for feeders and how are they set up?

And anything else you'd like to throw in would be great!

 

[disneyhorse]

Oooh that's exciting!!! Nothing like a brand new barn.

Rubber mats in the stalls on concrete are a must. Any will do... Especially with little guys. The thicker, the better, and the bigger the better. Only because they won't shift as much.

The very best mats will be the same size as the stall, otherwise bedding and urine will get between the cracks and it's unpleasant and a lot of work to pull them up and clean beneath them.

In the aisle you can just leave bare cement... It's a dream to sweep and keep clean. You can brush a little texture into it when wet to prevent slipping if you have big horses or horses with shoes.

Dutch doors are way less maintenance than sliding doors which can sag on the tracks and also need cleaning and lubrication. It's also harder to line up the stall door latches. The upside to sliding doors is that they don't swing into the aisle, so it looks better and is better for really narrow aisles.

In my box stalls, since there's no dirt, I prefer to feed hay off the ground and feed grain/pellets in rubber hog pans. If I want a permanent feeder in the stall for grain, I strongly prefer a corner feeder pan that mounts to the walls.

For the little guys that may not reach over a stall door I like mesh or welded wire stall fronts.

Andrea

 

[~Dan]

I have a clay floor and hate it, some places of heavy traffic such as in front of the doors and where they typically jump into the back stall/run in shelter are pretty rutted, and a lot of urine and spilled water can accumulate in these "pockets", not to mention it is unsightly and not that great for the horses to be on, but since their small, and spend usually only the nights in the stable, they should be alright until spring when I can fix the dang pot holes!!

We have rubber mats in the stalls, I think they were just generic, nothing fancy, picked up at Tractor Supply type mats but they are great!! Have yet to wear down in almost 4 years of being under pawing, rearing, kicking, bucking, rolling, peeing, horses. I too agree with Andrea, the closer to fit the better. I think that interlocking mats are best however, they are much smaller so are much easier to manage and move outside to be cleaned, especially when you don't have a helper. I saw an ad in Horse Illustrated magazine a few years ago for some that weigh only 12 pounds/ every four foot interlocking square of rubber mat, definitely something to investigate, I think.

If you have concrete aisle floors, you could always put down a single rubber mat where there is cross ties, grooming areas in front of the stalls (not quite sure what you are thinking of) to give horses extra cushion when standing in case you have a horse standing to dry after a bath or waiting to be saddled or harnessed so, should they have to stand for a longer time, it will cut down on leg fatigue.

Dutch all the way!! Build them so they open into the stall, will keep horses from pushing them open and wandering around the stable and getting into trouble. As well, it will save you valuable aisle space. You could do wire, but I have my stalls, mini/pony sized. The dividers and doors are mini/pony sized, but unscrew should I ever redo the stable, or move, so they aren't permanent, and the horses are happy as they can interact with friends when they are inside and groom, as well as hang their heads over the doors and look around the stable. They seem happiest that way.

I feed using on the ground, using black rubber feed tubs. They are easy to clean and disinfect and aren't permanent so is one less thing for a horse to get caught up on and also saves you a little bit of stall space and some money (I think.)

One last thing, WINDOWS. Lots of windows!! I leave mine open pretty much year round, and even if it is 19- (been there done, that, hope to never go back again) I always have some open, the horses love being able to stick their heads out, watch the wildlife in the forests surrounding our place, and breathe lots of fresh air, and feel the sun on their face.

Best of luck with your new barn building venture!! I'm sure whatever you choose your horses will love it.

Dan.

 

[Marty]

Take a look at my stall doors. They are only 28" tall and nope, nobody jumps out. The tallest of my horses is 34". I really have issues with confinement. I feel horses need to be able to stick their heads out easily without a struggle and see everything that is going on and be able to socialize. I don't like full length doors or dutch doors on stalls for that reason. Closing horses up like that is a no-no for me anyhow.

 

[MountainWoman]

I love Marty's set up. We don't have concrete floors but we do have sliding doors and I love them. My barn has stalls for minis and full sized horses so the mini stalls have scaled down doors so they can see out. Their feeding troughs, water buckets and salt licks are set at mini height. and I use hay bags set at mini height as well. Enjoy your barn building. Planning it is so much fun!

 

[Becky]

I'm trying to locate pictures of my show barn and stalls. My barn has an all concrete floor with mats in the stalls. The stalls are all metal with bars on the front above the solid bottom. The stall doors swing either direction. There are expanded metal 'windows' between the stalls so the horses can see each other that way as well as across the aisle.

My stalls are a little over 5' high and I would make them taller if I had to do it over again. I definitely want my horses to be able to see each other, but I do NOT want them to be able to put their heads over the top. I've had too many horses try to jump out of low stalls and it's too dangerous in my opinion.

The barn has overhead doors on each end and a window over every stall. I use buckets for feeding. I like to be able to take them out and clean them.

I'll try to find pictures and post when I can.

 

[Enchantress]

Thanks!

We're thinking of putting the ComfortStall mat stuff down for the stalls. Has anyone used that before? And my bf really wants to eventually put the SmartBrick stuff down in the aisle, but I'm not sure how I feel about that yet.

We had planned on doing 4' walls with wire covering the other 4' to the ceiling so they can socialize without being able to crawl over. We put the windows pretty low so that even the 30" can see out, and every stall has 1 window with the end stalls having 2. But I've been going back and forth on the doors. Either way it will probably have some sort of wire in the front so they can see out. The problem I had with full size horses was having a horse on the cross-ties and a horse in the stall being able to have contact. It's not a huge deal if I'm standing right there, but if I have to run to the tack room for anything I don't want any problems.

Has anyone tried a swing-out door for the water buckets?

I'm trying to make it work for everyone. I have sizes from 30" to 38" with 5 being stallions, so I need to make sure I can keep them safely in a stall since one used to crawl over my 4' stall doors. But I still want them to be able to socialize. They all live outside 24/7 so the barn is mostly if any need special care, but if I'm building it, I'm only doing it once!

 

[disneyhorse]

We have one comfortstall mat in the barn where I board. It's about ten years old now, held up great. The nice thing is the top layer is a single mat so there are no seams. Less bedding for the big guys, they will lie down without a ton of bedding. No cons except the cost, I don't know what they run now.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Dutch all the way!! Build them so they open into the stall, will keep horses from pushing them open and wandering around the stable and getting into trouble. As well, it will save you valuable aisle space.

Dan.

I can't offer much in answer to your questions but just wanted to comment on this suggestion. While on the surface this sounds like a good idea please don't make your bottom door (if you choose the split door option) open into the stall. I have seen what doors that open in are like if you get a horse down in its stall against the door and it needs to open in. It is not convenient nor time friendly to have to remove a stall door to access a horse in trouble.

 

[Miniv]

Whether you have sliding or dutch style stall doors, it's a must to have them short enough so the horse can see out.

Ventilation is another important factor. And yes to rubber mats. Ours are the 3/4 inch thick ones. It will take years before a mini can break down one of them.

Two other items that you didn't ask about, but I thought I'd bring up anyway...... One is having at least one no-freeze water hydrant inside the barn. The second is to have several electric outlets scattered through out.......the more the better. For the electric, you'll find yourself needing them for things like heated buckets, heat lamps, and clippers.

 

[disneyhorse]

I can't offer much in answer to your questions but just wanted to comment on this suggestion. While on the surface this sounds like a good idea please don't make your bottom door (if you choose the split door option) open into the stall. I have seen what doors that open in are like if you get a horse down in its stall against the door and it needs to open in. It is not convenient nor time friendly to have to remove a stall door to access a horse in trouble.

I will second the "don't have doors open into the stall" for a few reasons. One, you can't put thick bedding in because the door will scrape everything inward.

Two, as mentioned above, if the horse is cast against the door or is lying down from colic or injury, it's very hard to get into the stall.

Third, I've been in a stall a couple times where the horse panics or is very aggressive. If you've got to open the door inward it is far, far harder to escape from the horse as the door will minimize the space inside and you can get trapped in there or you or your horse can get stuck on the other side of the door. This might only work if you have extremely large stalls, like a 24' by 24' turnout or something...

Andrea

 

[happy appy]

Take a look at my stall doors. They are only 28" tall and nope, nobody jumps out. The tallest of my horses is 34". I really have issues with confinement. I feel horses need to be able to stick their heads out easily without a struggle and see everything that is going on and be able to socialize. I don't like full length doors or dutch doors on stalls for that reason. Closing horses up like that is a no-no for me anyhow.

Marty what size are you stalls?